Shan Masood smashes fastest Test ton by a Pakistan batter in a decade

Shan Masood entered the first Test against England in Multan under extreme pressure, both as batter and captain, following Pakistan’s whitewash at home at the hands of Bangladesh but the skipper let the bat do the talking on Day 1 as he smashed the fastest Test ton by a Pakistan batter since October 2014.

Masood got to his 100 off just 102 balls and brought up his first ton as the skipper of the Pakistan Test team. 

The last time a Pakistan batter scored a Test ton quicker was back in 2014 in Abu Dhabi when Misbah-ul-Haq got to three figures in just 56 balls against Australia. Since then, this is the first instance of a Pakistan batter scoring a ton under 110 balls in Tests. 

Fastest Test tons by Pakistan batters since 2015

102 balls - Shan Masood vs England in Multan, 2024

118 balls - Babar Azam vs Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi, 2019

123 balls - Agha Salman vs Sri Lanka in Colombo, 2023

123 balls -Mohammad Hafeez vs Bangladesh in Khulna, 2015

This was a masterclass from ball one from Masood, who took the attack to England from the get go. 

Opting to bat first, the left-hander walked in as early as the fourth over as Saim Ayub departed cheaply. But his rhythm was on point and he shook England with crisp ball-striking. He hammered a barrage of boundaries in the first session and brought up his fifty off just 42 balls. 

The 34-year-old slowed down a tad post lunch, but still made use of every scoring opportunity.

Eventually, he brought up his ton in the 38th over of Pakistan’s innings, taking Chris Woakes for seven runs. 

The ton is Masood’s fifth in Tests and his first since August 2020, which was also against England.  

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